Now, time for teh game on.

The dust has settled (back on the racks), updates have been implemented, new machines installed, and accounts created. Time to get back to gaming!

I'm finally able to enjoy a calm weekend by myself since the soon-to-be wifey is off visiting her family. Ah, there's nothing like listening to the cicadas backgrounded with drunk Mexican karakoe at midnight. Did you catch the sarcasm in that statement? The neighbors are throwing down again. I guess if I went inside, I wouldn't have to hear it. :P

So Dante's Inferno finally came in. If you've ever tried to read Virgil's "Dante's Inferno" or "The Divine Comedy", you know they're not easy stories to follow due to the language. The game is roughly (and I'm serious about "roughly") based on The Divine Comedy. It's much easier to follow the story, and a whole lot more entertaining. However, I'm a bit dissappointed. I was expecting this awesomely over-hyped game to be something new and fresh. What I ended up playing was a God Of War remake. Now the graphics were fairly well done, but there could have been more. I was pretty downed by the FMV sequences as they were rendered less detailed than the actual gameplay. The backgrounds were pretty well done, but the camera control (which there was none) sucked. I hit one section where I kept jumping off the ledge because the camera was at such an odd angle, I couldn't see where I was supposed to land. The gameplay, however, was well done. You can choose to either violently punish or absolve your enemies from a grab. And I mean violently. This is no kids game. You are in hell, and the characters/enemies show it. The squemish wouldn't like this. I, however, reveled in and awed at the developers depictions. It's how I would view it. In all, a fun and gorey play. But, save your pennies for Halo Reach when it comes out 9/14. My inner fanboy is giddy with excitement for the midnight release. Yes, I have my copy reserved (regular, I don't do collector's editions anymore). :D

I really should come up with some sort of rating system if I'm going to keep doing this.

l8rz!

Late night Linux brain spazisms

Sometimes in the evening, when I'm trying not to think about work related stuff, my mind goes into overdrive with weird projects. Sitting on my back porch slowly enjoying a Crown and Coke and mucking with my Netbook, tonight has become one of those nights.

It started with a simple decision to find the "fastest" OS for the Netbook. So far, Fedora Moblin has won, but I'm having issues with getting the wireless to work (Red Hat-based distributions are my preferred). Ubuntu Netbook Remix has come in at a fully functional second, but I'm not that familiar with Debian-based Linux. If I can't fully manipulate the OS from a termial (or Command Prompt), I'm not satisfied. Windows 7 Starter Edition is what came with it (and is functionally the best), but has it's slower moments (hence the desire for something faster). In my spare time waiting on ISOs to download (CD images for you computards out there), I started thinking about the 3 Playstations (the original - two grey boxes and one white "PSOne") I have downstairs collecting dust. "Hey, I wonder if you can put Linux on one of those?" Why in the hell would anyone want to put Linux on such an underpowered piece of hardware? Just to say it's been done. After sorting through the Google and Bing searches, parusing through multitudes of forums, and following nothing but dead links (websites that are no longer available), I found the Runix project. However, files from this attempt can no longer be found. It was a neat idea, but because of the PS's hardware limitations (no HDD, a 512K ROM, and only 2G RAM), I'm guessing it never got off the ground. So sad. It would have been fun to try. There are Linux projects out there for the PS2 (non-slim since it won't take a HDD). But, I'm not ready to throw in the towel on my PS2, yet. I don't have a PS3, and from what I've read, the software PS2 emulator on the current PS3 (the first models had a hardware chip) is crap. Also, Sony killed the PS3's ability to dual-boot with Yellow Dog Linux in a recent firmware update. Bastards. They just keep compiling reasons for me not to get one. I love my 360. Maybe when I get my original XBox back from Pops, I'll see what I can do with it. I remember reading where you can turn one into a massive Media Center. Oh well. At least I have some other Linux projects on the mind from other thunkings (like creating my own arcade console and home automation to name two). Those require a little financial backing that I'm just not ready to invest in. However, I will make them a reality at some point.

Oh lookie, my drink is empty. Time for another. ;)

l8rz!

Down with the Nazi regime!

Ugh it’s been a busy two weeks. Trying to get any game time in has been a chore at best. Oh, and the house still hasn’t been vacuumed in 2 weeks. This is not a fun thing to deal with when you have to readily shedding pooches. Two game updates this week:

Yes, I love fighting Nazis. Read my previous posts if you haven’t realized that already. After collecting dust on the table for almost 2 weeks, I was finally able to play and finish ID’s Wolfenstein. If you’ve never heard of the Wolfenstein name, then you are either too young or never play video games. If the latter, then why are you reading this? j/k NEwayz, the Xbox360 reincarnation puts our hero, B.J. Blazkowicz, in a whole new story. Without giving away the story, there’s not a whole lot I can say. The weapons you find along the way are pretty frikin cool. Especially once you get further along and can start upgrading them at the Black Market. My Panzerschreck (rocket launcher) and Leichenfaus 44 (particle disintegrator) were pretty unstoppable (as long as I had ammo for them). Considering the game was built on a modified version of the Doom 3 engine, the graphics weren’t too bad. The characters aren’t overly realistic like Modern Warfare. However, the immense environment was was pretty detailed especially once you start using the Thule Medallion to move in an out of the Veil (something you will be doing quite frequently to survive). There are 3 modes of gameplay to keep you entertained for many many hours along with some online multiplayer modes. Overall, not a bad rent. And, if you can find it in the bargain bin, not a bad buy. I will be looking for a decently priced gently used copy myself (no, I haven’t hit eBay, yet).

The Xbox Summer of Arcade has started once again this year, and they have games on the docket that I’m after. Over my many years of gaming, I’ve accumulated quite a few consoles. Some of those consoles (the Sega Dreamcast) I purchased (very cheap, mind you) for a few specific games. I’ve been able to replace most of them through the Xbox. Dead or Alive 2 I replaced with the Dead or Alive box set for Xbox (the original). Soul Calibur has been available in the Xbox Live Arcade for some time, although I haven’t forked out the Microsoft Points for it, yet. Last week, my last Dreamcast title was finally replaced. Good thing, too, because the cd reader puked about a month ago. Hydro Thunder Hurricane. I’ve been waiting for years on this one. Now, I’m a happy camper complete with a graphics upgrade and some new tracks added from the sit-down arcade version (at Dave and Busters the last time I was there). Time to start looking for my old NES favorites in the Wii Arcade.

The four weeks at work is going to be crazy busy so I’ll try to get at least part one of the automated Windows 7 install up this weekend.

 

Happy boating (racing)! l8rz